Improvement in machines for making boot and shoe-heels



timidi Statt-t* CHARLES W. GLIDDEN, OF LYNNtASSIGNOR TO MCKAY HEELINvG-MACHINE ASSOCIATION, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

-Letters Patent No. 112,702, dated March 14, T871.

lIMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR MAKING BOOT AND SHOE-HEELS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. GLIDDEN, of Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Machine for Piling and Tacking together the Lifts of vBoot and Shoe-Heels; and I do hereby 'declare that the following, taken in connection with the drawing which accompaniesy and forms part of this specification, is a description of my invention .sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

Machinery is now very generally employed for shaving or trimming th convex outlines-ot' boot and shoe-heels, instead of performing that operation by hand, and this 'renders it desirable that the lifts or layers ot' which heels aremade should be arranged v with method and regularity, because the heel-shaving machines cut in a given path, and cannot be made to conform to distorted arrangement of material, as can be done when heels are shaved by hand.

Up to the time of my invention, herein set forth, heel-lifts have been arranged by hand into piles for the formation of heel-blanks; and while the' intent has been to make suchpiles symmetrical, symmetry has seldom been attained; and hence, to insure that the cutter of a heel-trimming machine should always find material to remove all around the convex outline of a heel, the lifts have been made with an excess ot area in each, so as to render it reasonably certain that, notwithstanding defective 'arrangement or piling of the lifts, no part of the heel proper would come within the path Aof motion of the knife.

ButV this excess o`f a material so expensive as leather it is desirable to save so as to cheapen the cost of boots mating the shape of the finished heel when the lifts are systematically arranged-that is, with their longitudinal center lines in one plane, and with the breast of each lift in another plane; and one part of my invention consists in an organization of mechanism bywhich l an assemblage of heel-lifts, placed in a pile with relation to their respective sizes, shall be automatically .positioned or arranged with the longitudinal centers of all in one vertical plane, and the straight faces or breasts of allin another vertical plane, this position bringing their curvilinear edges into concentric lines, and to the nearest approximation which they are capa? ble of assuming to the regular or flush tapering surface to be formed by the heel-trimming cutter.

The invention further consists, in the combination with such automatic placing mechanism, of mechanism by which the placed lifts are clamped together, and while so clamped are tacked or fastened together, ready for application to the sole of a boot.

lIhe drawing represents a machine embodying the invention.

A shows the machine in front elevation.

B is a sectional elevation of it.

C is a plan of it.

c denotes a vertical stand or frame, on the top of which is a stationary head, b.

Parallel to this head, and at some distance above it, is a horizontal table, c, upon which rests a lift-plate, (l.

This plate swivels orturus horizontally on a pin, e, and when swung outward it is brought into position to leceivethe lifts tov be arranged and fastened together.

Wheuswung inward to the center of the table, its movement is arrested by a pin or-tube, cl2, (which plays in a'circularslot, g, in the plate,) and when stopped the pile of lifts will be direct-ly under a clamp-block, h.

On one side of this lift-plate is a breast-gauge, t', having a rigid verticall face, against or toward which the straight edge of each lift is placed in assembling the lifts.

Opposite to this gauge, (when thenplate is swung in,) and on the two sides of the.table, is a series of three slide-blocks, It, sliding radially toward and from the center of the lift-plate, thec'enters of the adjacent block being ninety degrees apart.

In the inner end of cach block, k, is an India-rubber or similar elastic presser, l, the front or inner end of which has an inclination corresponding to the inclination to be given to the side 0r to the rear of the heel opposite such presser.

Each slideblock is jointed or connected to the upper end of`oue of a set of vertical levers, m, cach of which levers is pivoted to the stand a, as seen at n.

The lower end of each lever bends inward and'carries a friction-roll, o, and against the three rolls o the tapering face of a cone, 1), bears, as seen at l.

This cone is fixed to the top of a pin, q, the bott-om of which is jointed to a pedal-lever, lr, the downward movement of the pedal drawing down the cone and causing it to move the lower end of each lever outward,

thereby forcing in the upper ends of the levers, and

^ with them the slide-block and pressers.

The clamp-block l1, is on the lower end of a vertical screw, s, running through a cross-head, t, at the top of two slide-rods, e, the lowerl ends of which rods al'e supported upon another cross-head, u, through the center of which passes the pedal and cone-pin q, depression ofthe pin not only effecting inward radial movements of the presser-blocks, but also the downward movement of the clam p-hloek.

The upward movement of the pedal and clam p.block is effected by springs, c, and the outward movement of the presser-blocks by springs w.

When the presser-blocks move inward the elastic presser opposite to thevgauge-block 4presses all the central position upon or Aunder the next one.

The placing operation is effected before the clampblock Vreaches the top lift, the cylindrical surface of the cone-block sliding against the rolls after the presserblocks havel'nored inward, and while the clamp-block continues to move-down.

To adapt the machine for arranging lifts to form heels oi' various lengths and breadths, each slide-block is made adjustable by a set screw or screws, :t and for various inclinations of heels the face of each elastic presser may be set more or less inelining, by means of a set-screw,y. For various heights of heels the elamplblock h may be set higher or lower by the screw s and nuts z.

rlhe lifts having been regularly arranged or placed by the pressers and clamped by the clamp-block, are ready te be tacked or fastened together, and this is ell'ected. as follows:

The table chas projectingfrom its under surface .guide-pins a2, which pass through and slide vertically in the head b. The table has a center piston, b2, the.

foot of which enters a tube, c?, in the center of the head. In the piston are vertical nail-tubes, di, which contain drivers, e, the bottoms of which drivers rest on the bottom end of the tube ci. Vhile the lifts are being arranged and clamped, the table is held in normal position above the head b by a bolt or button, f2, and in this position the upper ends of the tubes (Z2 form nail or tack receivers, the tacks rcstin g upon the drivers e", with their points or upper ends just below the top of the lift-plate d. \Vhen the pedal has descended far enough to place thev lifts and clamp them together, the bolt is thrown out, and the continued descent of the pedal will then draw down the table c'aud its pistou,

causing the nail-driver izofbrcc the nails or tacks up through the nail-tubes Into and through the lifts, the

points of the nails being clamped against the clamp block hi. The lift-formedheol bla-nk is now ready for removal, to be applied to a boot, and for the action lof the heel-trimming and heel-nailing mechanism.

ployed, this pin sliding through the head b and table c', and entering a hole, h2, in the lift-plate ll, said hole 4coming into linewith the pin when the plate is swung in against the stop-pin or tube d". The piu gE has a ange. i?, against which the prongs of a fork at thel end of a lever, k2, are held by a spring, l.

The opposite arnr of the lever extends over a pin, fm2, fixed on and moving with the cone p, and in the normal position of the mechanism the top of the pin presses up the lever-arm and thereby frees the stoppin g2 fromthe stress ofthe spring, the top of the pin being below the top of the table. Butas the pedal begins to drop the piu 'm2 falls away from the lever and the spring Zz then forces up the pin gi, causing its upper end to enter the hole in the lift-plate and lock the plate in position.

While I have thus specilically described the arrange ment of the mechanism, it will be obvious that the construction and arrangementof the parts may be variously modified without clel'lartnre from the essential elements of my invention.

I claim- 1. A series ot' radial slide-blocks, arranged andoperating substantially as described. 2. The combination, substantially as described, of.

the positioning slide-blocks, the block for clamping' the lift-s in place, and the mechanism for tacking the lifts together.

3. In combination with each slidebloek, an elastic presser, l. l

4. Theradial placing blocks k and vertically-moving clamp-block 7l, made adjustable for heels 0i' various sizes, substantially as described.

5. In combination with the sliding blocks, a swiveling lift-receiving plate, d, and a breast-gauge, t.

Witnesses: CHARLES W. GLIDDEN.

CHAs. S. PUmNToN, J. R. GwINDoM. 

